Endgate



c R.- ADAMS ENDv GATE Aug. 9, 1949..

Filed Oct. 20, 1945 2 Sheets-Sheet l lib 5007:

. 1949- c. R. ADAMS. 1 2,478,855

END GATE Filed Oct. 20 1945 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIGG m" l -/0 v IIPg;

Patented Aug. 9, 1949 sm'r'es- Pitts-Mt crates Ganad Application October 20, 1945,.- Seriai No 6235641 In Canada-March &,- 1943 This application constitutes'a'continnation inpart of my United? states Patent application Serial. No: 480:17; fiiedon' theth" dayof March, 1943,, now ahandoned', and? my' invention relates to iinprovementsi'n end-gates, forvehicles; particul'ariy grain wagons; grain: trucks and-the like, aprincipal object ofthe invention being'to pro-- vi'de a" device of the character herewithin' descrihed" which isleak-proof? thereby preventing the loss of grain" from" the wagon or'tru'ch while" in transit" to the elevator:

Aifurther object of my invention is toprovidea device of the" character herewithin described which is pivoted adjacent" one of the lower cor'--- ners thereof for" vertical movement in its own plane, and normally hounded by: a" leak-proof $1617 on three sides thereof. v 7 I iiirther'ohje'ct of my invention is-t'o provide a deviee of the" character lierewithih described which mayreadili 'be installed" in any'existiiig grain wagon or'trti'ck'ih a: minimum of time and witlr ease: v

A further object of my'inventionis to provide" a? device of" the character he'rewithih described which is of eminently simple and rugged on sti'uctibii, vea's'y'to r'a-ise andtie-detachhodily from a" vehicle? with the abovem'oreimporta-nt objects in view and such other minor objects as may appear as" the specification proceeds; my invention consists essentially the arrangement and construction of parts all as hereinafter more particular-1y de-- serih'ed; reference-being hadto'theaccompanying drawings, in" which:- H

Figtiie 1" isa' rear elevation of my end-gate and asseciated' assembly showing the left hand lower corner structure thereofi enlargedi.

, Figure" 2 is a perspectivedetait of my device? and illiistrating" the angulation of my emf-gate". siot as seen fronr above.

Figure-3 is a section onthe liners-3? of Fig:-

Fiigiire 4" is a perspective detail illustrating a". part" of my" invention as" viewed from below;

' Figure- 5 is an illustration simiiar to Figure 1 of an alternative embodiment of my grain deer.

Figure 6 is a pia'ir view' of" the alternative: em?- hodiine'nt of" Figure Figure 7" is an" enlarged vi'e'vv'of the left end, oFFi'gure s shcwihg my do'ori'n the piane of the vehicle rear=end in" full lines;

In" the" drawings like." characters of reference" indicate corresponding arts in the dinerent fig;-

Referring firstit'o the embodiment of my invention: illustrated: Figures 1 to 4" inclusive,v it is tobe'seen" that I'make use of strips ofmet'al' flat stock l and 2, the strip I being in the order of" 4" to" 6 inches'wi'de and" one-eighth of an inch thick whilethe memher' Ztis preferably approximatel'jr 1' inch wide butYthree eighths of'an inch thick. 7

The strip I is secured" to the upper surface of the' rear transverse edge of the floor 3';. and\ projects somewhat beyond theextreme. edge. as clearly'il-lustrated in FiE'IlrSf-Zl 3 and 4'. At the side" edges of the floor, the strip is angledi into the vertical; the vertical" portion. thereof being. enumerated 4'1 and being secured" as best illustrated in the accompanying Figure 3 to the inner face of the rearmo'ststakesffi. As'clearly illiistrated irrFigureZ, thevertic'al" portions 4* overlap" the rearmost portions" of the side walls. 6L and maybe continuedupwar'dly to any height desired:

'I-hestripfi 2 is'positioned beyond" the rear edge of the'fl'oor-3; but" extends parallel with the strip I, being-spaced 'therefrom' to provide the horizon ta-l siet' l whichre'ceivesthe' lower horizontal ed'ge' a o'fmy'end-gate The strip 2 is" supported on.

thehracket" [6; audit will be notedthat one end.

H of-' the-strips projects outwardly beyond the boundaries of the wagon or truck. body for a reason presently to be" described.

Secured as by'welding' or by" means. of' bolts totheuppersuriaoe of' the strip 2', and" parallel and' in alignmentwith' the portions 4, are strips or verticatportions rr' ofthe" same widthvvas the. strip 23 but preferably'of lighter gauge although. thisi's not'necessary; and',,.i'f" desired, the strips orport-ions- FF maybe formedofthe same stock as the strip 2, in which case the extension lilimay be attached a's'by'welding".

'ihe strips IF, bein'gspaced" from the portions. 4' toa similar extent as the strip TisspacedLfitom the strip Ii vertical slots' [2* are provided to re.-- ceive the side edges" P3 of my end gateie'; In con.- clusion; inthis context, iti's tohe noted that all; the'stripshereinhe'fore referred to lie in a manner which I define as flatwi'seL by which I mean. that the wider surfaces, as opposed to the edges. thereof; lie in the plane of the walls. andifloei: of the=vehic1e body, solthatrconsiderahle stiffness exists againstdistortion under the influence oi; horizontally'applied gate-pressure. The edgesrofl thestrip will also he straighterandrpresehve truer parallelism than .wouldbetthacase it thelwide. sur- I faces of the aforesaidstrip. were normal toe the vehicle" body, wall and" flbor plane, which s imiaoes through the slot 8 formed upon the vertical flange 9 of a piece of angle iron 20, the horizontal flange 2| of which is secured, as by welding to the upper surface of the projecting portion ll of the strip 2.

By reference to the magnified left hand lower portion of the accompanying Figure 1, it will be seen that my slot I8 is angulated vertically as at 22, being open at the angulated end thereof so as to permit removal of the stud when the gate is pushed to the right, and then raised by the application of an upwardly directed force upon the projection I'B.

However, I wish it to be noted particularly that, as I have indicated by means of dotted lines 23, the slot I8 is recessed at the closed end thereof so as to provide a semi-circular seating for the stud thus preventing the gate from sliding downwardly and to the left when raised via the handle l4.

From the foregoin it will be clearly understood that the side edges 3 and the lower horizontal edge 8 are snugly positioned between the slots I2 and the slot 1 respectively when in closed position, hence no leakage can occur as is the case 13 with the conventional end-gate.

I would draw attention to the swinging bridgepiece 24 which hangs upon a stud secured to the inner surface of the portion 4 remote from the hinged or pivoted side of my gate. This bridgepiece is provided with the slot 26, and may therefore be moved endwise to a limited extent or rotated so as to span the upper portion of the adjacent slot I2 and rest upon the lug 21 projecting inwardly in the same horizontal plane from i the adjacent strip II. By means of this simple expedient, I am able to maintain my gate in the raised position for the discharge of grain. In this context also, it is to be noted that the pivoting of my gate for vertical movement in its own plane at a point beyond the adjacent side edge I3, or in other words, beyond the boundary of the grain enclosing box, provides an opening the full width of the box for the discharge of grain when the door is raised. Thus, grain cannot collect in one of the rear corners of the box necessitating its removal as by shovelling.

In the embodiment of Figures 5 to 7 inclusive I would explain that my gate 28 is substantially similar to the gate 3 of my first embodiment except that instead of being provided with a stud.

I1, I simply provide an aperture 29 in the extension 30 thereof, a strip of angle iron 3| upon the upper edge to facilitate lifting, and an aperture 32 in the handle 33 through which a bar or the like may be passed to aid in securing an upward purchase for the purpose of starting" the gate, particularly when bulk materials like gravel are being hauled, and which have a very high coeflicient of friction against the inner surface of the gate.

It is also to be understood in connection with this alternative embodiment of my invention which I am now describing that I provide a strip 34 upon the inner surfaces of the rear-end of the vehicle box 35, in all respects similar to strip I, the strip 36 including the vertical portion 37 being also similar to strip 2 including the right hand vertical portion Upon the left hand side, with respect to the accompanying figures however, it will be observed that the vertical strip portion 38 is slightly misaligned with respect to the vertical portion 39 of strip 34, or in otherwords, is offset leftwardly with respect thereto, towards stud 40.

Upon the projecting left end portion 4| of the strip 36 is secured a piece of angle iron 42, the

same comprising with the portion 4| what I define as a horizontal extension, and through said extension and protruding horizontally therejfrom upon the front surface thereof is a stud 43,

the same being rigidly secured in the position described. My gate 26 is mounted upon this stud, and rotates vertically thereabout as indicated by arrow 44.

It is to be understood that as in my first embodiment, the adjacent parallel edges and 46 will only be spaced apart by a distance a few thousandths of an inch more than the thickness of my door. However, in this embodiment I have devised what I conceive to be improved and simplified means for removing my door bodily and eliminating the necessity for limited transverse movement in the plane which it occupies between strips 36 and 36, etc., as is necessary in my first embodiment.

To this end, it is to be understood that after elevating my door into the inclined position of Figure 5, but to the greater extent than shown which is necessary for freeing the right end from portion 37, I am able to rotate the same through a substantially horizontal pathas per the arrow 41 of Figure 6, and only then do I withdraw the gate by movement in its own plane as indicated by arrow 48, and after the frictional engagement thereof with material remaining in the box has been relieved.

The reason for the offsetting ofthe portions 38,

and 39 will now be apparent, because, by this expedient I am able to maintain a spacing between the adjacent surfaces of the portions 38 and 39 equal to that of the edges 45 and 46, while at the same time permitting a greater diagonal space (indicated by the double-headed arrow 49) between the adjacent edges of the members 38 and 39. By the provision of a greater distance between such edges, I am able to avoid pinching of my gate between the members 38 and 39 during the oblique or skewed withdrawal thereof.

a After my gate has been dismounted from stud 43, it will be understood that it will fulcrum during the horizontal travel as per arrow 41, on the member 38 adjacent the right hand end of the horizontal projection 30. Accordingly, I consider it advisable in this embodiment to secure the portion 38 to the portion 36 as by means of welding or the like, rather than by riveting as in the first embodiment of my invention illustrated in Figure 1, although obviously, this is not of critical importance.

Since many modifications can be made in the invention herein described and since the accompanying drawings have been prepared only to illustrate the relative arrangement and interaction of parts and not with regard to accuracy of dimensions for manufacturing purposes which in view of this disclosure I consider to entail merely mechanicalskill together with the skill parently widely different embodiments of this invention may be made within the scope of the accompanying claims without departing from the spirit and scope of the same it is intended that all matter contained in the accompanying specification shall be interpreted as illustrative only and not in a limiting sense and I desire only such limitations placed thereon as justice dictates.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. In combination a vehicle end-gate vertically rotatable in its own plane, said end-gate being characterised by the provision of horizontal projections at the lower corners thereof, and structure for rotatable attachment of said end-gate aforesaid, and for the removal thereof, consisting of a horizontally projecting stud on one bf said projections, a projecting support extending parallel with the said projection to which said stud is secured, said support being horizontally slotted to receive said stud, said slot angulating vertically, and being open at the vertically angulated end thereof to permit removal of said stud.

2. In combination with a vehicle end-gate, a pair of parallel strips of rigid material extending flatwise and horizontally across said vehicle at the rear end thereof, said strips being spaced to provide a leak proof slot to receive the lower edge of said gate, said strips being angulated into the vertical adjacent the longitudinal edges of the floor of said vehicle and providing vertical leak proof slots adjacent the side walls of said vehicle body to receive the side edges of said gate, and means for securing said end-gate for vertical rotation in its own plane, and for ready removal from said vehicle body which consists of a projecting stud secured to said end-gate in the vicinity of one of the lower corners thereof, and a horizontally slotted support, the slot in said support angulating vertically and being open at the upwardly angulated end to permit insertion and removal of said stud.

3. In combination, a vehicle end-gate having a, horizontal projection in its own plane at one of the lower corners thereof, metallic stripping structured to provide a continuous slot for the side edges and the under-edge of said gate, se-

cured to the body of said vehicle along the rear edges of the floor and side ,walls thereof, a horizontal extension projecting from said metallic stripping in the vicinity of one of the lower rear corners of said vehicle body and in a plane parallel to that of said gate and said horizontal projection, said horizontal projection being pivotally connected to said extension to allow rotation of said gate thereabout in its own plane.

4. In combination, a vehicle end-gate having a horizontal projection in its own plane at one of the lower corners thereof, metallic stripping structured to provide a slot for the side edges of said gate, secured to the body of said" vehicle along the rear edges of the side walls thereof, a horizontal extension projecting from said metallic stripping in the vicinity of one of the lower rear corners of said vehicle body and in a plane parallel to that of said gate and said horizontal projection, a stud secured to and projecting from said extension, said horizontal projection being mounted on said stud to allow rotation of said gate thereabout in its own plane, said metallic stripping including a vertical portion secured to the vertical rear edge of the side wall of said vehicle which is adjacent said extension, and a second portion parallel with, and spaced from the first portion, said second portion being offset from the first portion towards said stud to permit partial rotation of said gate through a plane normal to that of the gate itself following the inclination thereof about said stud prior to the dismounting of said gate from said stud, and prior to removal of said gate from said vehicle.

CHARLES R. ADAMS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the 

